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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. E. MOORE.

KEY BOARD ATTAGHMENT FOB. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

No. 269.810. Patented De0.26,1882.

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u, PETERS. Mumw m. Wnhlugkon. n c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet :3.

P. B. MOORE.

7 KEY BOARD ATTACHMENT FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, No. 269,810. PatentedDec.Z6,188Z.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS E. MOORE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T O EDWARD L. RAND,OF SAME PLACE.

KEY-BOARD ATTACHMENT FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters-Patent No. 269,810, dated December26, 1882. Application filed March 30, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, FRANCIS E. MOORE, of Boston, in the county ofSuti'olk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Key-Board Attachments for Musical instruments, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to attachments for musical instruments having akey-board,adapted to be readily secured to or removed from thekey-hoard, and constructed and arranged to mechanically strike the keysof theinstrument, and thereby to sound the notesor tones thereof, in anorder or succession corresponding to the 1 perforations in parallel rowsin a music-sheet,

that is caused to travel in proper relation to the operating mechanismof the attachment.

The improvements will be fully hereinafter described in detail, and setforth in the claims. In the accompanying drawings, illustrating myinvention, Plate 1 Figure 1 is aplan view of the key-board ofareed-organ and of the inn proved attachment therel'or, which in someparts is shown as broken away and in horizontal section, as will appearmore fully hereinafter. Plate 2, Fig. 2 is a transverse verticalsection. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section for a part of thelength of the attachment.

Fig. 4 is a detail view, hereinafter referred to.

0 Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section illustrating a modification,hereinafter fullydescribed.

' in the drawings, A represents a main case, composed of vertical endpieces, B B, and a horizontal top or platform, 0; and D is asupplementary casing, surmounting the platform 0, and attached to it inany suitable manner, but

so as to leave an open slot, a, at itst'ront and rear sides just abovethe platform. The cases A D carry within them the working parts ofthe oattachment, as will be explained hereinafter,

and the main case A has at each end piece, B, a hook-lug, I), Fig. 4,each adapted to be engaged with and disengaged from a recess, 0, in astationary block, E, at each end of the keyboard of the musicalinstrument-such as an organ, melodeon, or piano-forte-for whichtheattachment is to be used, as a means of securing an automatic operationof the keys from the travel of and in accordance with the perforationsof a music-sheet of paper or of other suitable material in properrelation to the operative mechanism of the attachment. The case A, whenits hooks b are engaged with the recesses c of the blocks E, has a restby the lower edge, d, of each of its end pieces, B B, upon a suitableblock fixed at each end of the key-board, and which blocks may be in onepiece with the blocks E or separate therefrom, but of course situated insuch relation thereto as to secure the rest, and as a consequence the6() support of the case A, desired when the hooks b are engaged with therecesses c.

F is the music-sheet. This music-sheet is to be made of card-board,paper, cloth, or other suitable flexible material, and it has cut in ita series of parallel and equidistant rows of perforations, c, whichperforations are of lengths and of a relative arrangement to representthe different notes of a tune, or of a chord, or of any otherarrangement or musical 7o tones. The music-sheet F may be of any desiredlength; but for its proper guidance through the attachment constitutingthis invention it preferably should have a Width equal to thedistancebetween the two parallel 7 end standards, G G, which project above theplatform (J. The music-sheet travels over the platform O in and betweenthe standards G G, which act as guides to it,'in the directionrepresented by the arrows of the drawings, and its said travel issecured by means of a horizontal feed-roller, H, arranged to turn ateach end in bearings of the standards G G, and by flanges h to closelypress and confine the music-sheet F to the upper surface of the platform0 at and between the series of holes fin it. These holes fare at equaldistances apart, and they severally correspond in position to the rowsof perforations e in themusicsheet, and the feed-roller H has incorrespond- 9o ing lines therewith a series of parallel peripheralgrooves, g, each of an equal depth, and such as to admit of the desiredprojection of levers orjacks J through the perforations e of themusic-sheet F and into them, as will hereinafter fully appear. Thefeed-roller H, between its peripheral grooves g-that is, atits flangesor portions h, which bear upon the music-sheet--is covered with rubberor other yielding or elastic material, and preferably one-such asrubber-as will secure a friction and hold upon the music-sheet to insureits feed or travel over the platform as the feedroller is turned. I

K and L are two gear-wheels of different diameters, secured tothejournal m at one end of the feed-roller H. The inner gear-wheel, K,is of a larger diameter than the outer gearwheel, L, and the two areseparated from each other, as shown.

M is a horizontal shaft located below the platform 0, and arranged toturn at each end in suitable bearing in one end B of the case A and inone of the uprights G for the feedroller H. The feed-roller H andhorizontal shaft M are axially in the same vertical plane, and thelatter is provided with two gear-wheels, O and 1, of differentdiameters, separated from each other, but attached to or a part of acommon sleeve, Q, which surrounds the shaft M, and is connected theretoby a longitudinal spline-joint, so as to be free to slide lengtlr wisethereon, and at the same time to rotate and turn with the shaft whenitis turned. The smaller gear-wheel, 0, of the shaft M is the inner oneof the two, and its diameter is such as toengage with the inner andlarger gear-wheel, K, of the feed-roller H, and the diameter of theouter and larger gear-wheel, P, ofthe shalt M is such as to engage withthe outer and smaller gear-wheel, L, of the feed-roller. The gear-wheelsO P of the shaft M are situated so that when one, 0, is engaged with itsgearwheel K of the feed-roller the other, P, will be disengaged from itsgear-wheel L thereof, and vice versa. This respective engagement anddisengagement is secured by a slide of the gear-wheels 0 P and theircarrying-sleeve Q along their shaft, and for so sliding them a lever, R,is provided. This lever B, by its forked end 1', partially surrounds thesleeve Q, and it turns upon a fulcrum at s of the case A. The leverprojects, for convenience of operating it, by its end tthrough a slot,u, at the front side of the case A, as it (the case) is located upon themusical instrument, andthe end walls of this slot limit the throw of thelever in either direction, and are situated so as to secure the relativeengagement and disenga gement of the gear mechanism above described.

S is a worm gear-wheel secured to the shaft M, and meshing with a wormgear-wheel,T, of a horizontal shaft, U, arranged to turn in suitablebearings of the case A, and to be driven by a hand-crank or winchattached to it at the front side of the case, or by any other suitablemeans. The turning of the driving-shaft U secures, through theconnecting mechanism described, the turning of the feed-roller, and,according as either the large or the smaller gearwheel of the shaft M ismeshed with its gearwheel of the feed-roller, the feed-roller will bedriven with a greater or lesser degree of rapidity.

There is a lever or jack J for each row of perforations e in themusicsheet, and each lever at its part for projection through aperforation of the music-sheet and into a groove 9 of the feed-roller,as has been stated, has a wedge-shaped projection, o. Each lover or jackJ, is arranged within a separate guideway or groove, l, of thehorizontal platform G of the case A, and they are seve ally horizontal,and they project toward the front of the case, and are arranged to turnupon a separate fulcrum-pin, 10, which preferably are severally of acontinuous wire, located and secured in a suitable position therefor.

Under the platform are horizontallyarranged hammer-levers \V-one foreach of the jacklevers. Each hammer-lever W at one end is provided withan adjustable tappet or buttonhead, {I}, by which to rest upon a key, X,of the key-board of the musical instrument, and otherwise each isarranged to swing in a vertical plane upon a suitablefulcrum, and to begiven a spring-pressure in a downward direction upon its proper key ofthe instrument. Each hammer-lever \V has aseparate fulcrum,f of a commonhorizontal rail, G and its doww ward s itting-pressure is secured bygiving the lever itself a bentfoi'ni and springy character, andattaching it to the rail 0 which attachment makes its fulcrum, asaforesaid. Each spring ham mer-lever W passes through a separateguideslot, 9 of acommon stationary rail, 0 and the rail 0 to which theyare severally attached, is hinged to the upper side of astationaryhorizontal rail, F, of the case, and it is arranged to beswung thereon and adjusted by a thumb set-screw or set-screws, W, togive a greater or lesser degree of springpressure to the hamtrier-levers, as may be desired. The turning of the thumb-screw [L2 inone direction swings the rail C in a manner to secure a stiffening ofthe spring-pressure of the spring hammer-levers, and the turning of itin the other direction operates the reverse, and thus thespring-pressrn'e of the hammer-levers can be adjusted. Each hammerleverW is connected with ajack-lever J, and such jacklever, as to its row ofperforations in the music-sheet, agrees with the relative position ofits key X in the scale of the key-board, upon which said hammer-leverrests. Therefore, as is obvious, for a proper relative arrangement ofhammer-levers and jack-levers as to the keys of the keyboard and therows of perforations in the music-sheet, if the music-sheet and theguiding and feeding mechanism therefor be constructed and arranged for amusicsheet of a width narrower than the width occnpied by the severalkeys of the key-board of the instrument, either the hammer levers or thejack-levers, or the connecting mechanism between the two sets of levers,or two or more of such separate contrivances, must of necessity run inlines more or less diverging from each other, and from the central lineof the attachment, where all such contrivances, as a whole,

for the key, are coincident with such central line and with the key ofthe keyboard, and this divergence of the contrivances, as is obvious,will be uniform and regular upon each side of the central line of theattachment, if the attachment be arranged for the feed-roller to operateon the music-sheet, so that the central line of the music-sheet travelsin a line coincident with the line of the central key of the key-board.

The jack-levers J and the ham trier-levers WV are in lines parallel witheach other and with the lines of the keys X, and the mechanism whichmakes the connection between the jack and hammer levers runs in eachinstancein a diverging line at and from each side of the centralhammer-lever and jack-lever, which levers, together with the connectingmechanism, are in a coincident vertical plane. Eachjacklever is of anangular shape. lts fulcrum is at its angle, and the lower Vertical arm,c of the lever is connected by a wire, 1 or other ilexible rod totheupper vertical arm, r ,of an angular lever, H", which has its fulcrum sin a lug, t and at its other arm, a is connected by a rod, '0 to theouterend of the proper hammerlever W for such jack-lever. As ahammerlever and its jack-lever necessarily are not in the same verticalplane, except as to the central hammer-lever and its jack-lever, and asthe jack-levers and hammer-levers are, however, arranged in parallellines with each other, the mechanism above described as connecting ajack and a hammer lever necessarily must run in one, it' not more, ofits parts diagonally with the parallel arrangement of thejack and hammerlevers, except it is the central hammer-lever and jack-lever.

As arranged, the wire connections and angular levers run diagonally asabove stated, and in order to secure an action between the wireconnections and the jack-levers in a direct line with the jack-leverseach wire connection, except that of the central hammer and jack levers,runs about and has a bearing against a separate and vertical roller, 20which are severally attached to acommon horizontal rail, J of the caseA, and suitably located to secure the direct action stated.

The arrangement of the jack and hammer levers and the connection betweenthem, as above described, is all such that the depression of the freeend m of a jack-leverthat is, the end thereof located to pass into andout of a perforation in the music-sheet and a groove of thefeed-roller-will operate upon the hammer-lever of such jack-lever in adirection to raise the outer end of said ham nier-lejack-levers abovedescribed, together with the construction and arrangement of feed-rollerand other parts previously described, the music-sheet is caused to moveover the platform 0 under the feed-roller, and as the solid orunperforated portions of the music-sheet come into contact with thejack-levers the jack-levers are depressed to a distance corresponding tothe depths of the grooves in the feed-roller H and to the thickness ofthe material COI1lposing the music-sheet, and'the outer ends of thehammer-levers are lifted a sufficient distance in relation to the keysfor the keys to resume their normal position of rest and be maintainedin such position until perforations oi the music-sheet comeinto positionwith the jacklevers, when the corresponding hammerlevers are freed tothe action of their springs, and they then act upon their keys anddepress them, and thus secure the sounding of t e notes belongingthereto, and so the parts remain until another solid or unpert'oratedportion of the music-sheet comes into contact with the jack-levers, whenthe raising of the hammer-levers again takes place and the keys come toanormal position of rest, and so on, as before.

It is apparent from the description given that the throw of thehammer-levers is not dependentupon the thicknessot' the music-sheet, buthas increased length given to it because. ot the grooves g in thefeed-roller, whereby comparatively thin material for the music sheet maybe used without practically affecting the correct operation of theattachment.

Mechanism other than the roller H, which has been herein particularlydescribed as the teed-roller, may be employed for feeding themusic-sheet forward through the attachment withoutdepending on theIOHGITI as the teed, in which case the roller could be made stationary,and be made simply a bar with grooves g in its face toward thejack-levers.

In Fig. 5 the mechanism shown as the connection between each of thehammer and jack levers consists in a horizontal extension, P of thelever H and thejack-lever restsand operates upon this extension througha vertical pin, (1?, arranged in a suitable guideway, b This extension 1of the lever H is in place of the flexible wire g and ot' the guide-roll'10? for such wire, and the vertical pin a is in place of thedownward-projecting arm of the jaclr lever J, as previously shown anddescribed; butplainly the construction and operation are in both casessubstantially and practically similar.

In Figs. 2 and 5 are shown arrangements of devices for lifting andholding the hammerlevers out of their operative position, moreparticularly when the attachment herein described is to be placed intoand out of its position upon the musical instrument, and when amusic-sheet is to be inserted. These mechanisms consist of a horizontalangular rail, K fulcrumed at its angle, and adapted by one arm, 01 tooperate against and upon the connecting mechanism between the jack andhammer IIS 4 ecaslo levers, and by the other arm, to be operated from acam-lever, L ,ot' suitable shape to throw the lever-rail K in adirection to secure the lilting of the hammer-levers against theirspringsand hold them so litted, and for said rail K to be freed from thehammer-levers.

As shown in Fig. 2, the lever-rail K is arranged to work upon the lowerirojecting arm, M, of the jaclt levers, whereas in Fig. 5 it is arrangedto work upon the extension P of the connecting-lever H However, both aresubstantially alike.

The hammer-levers I may have the spring pressure required upon themgiven to them by springs which are separate and distinct from them.

The herein-described arrangement of gear mechanism for driving thefeed-roller enables the attachment to be readily changed for a travel ofthe music-sheet at a greater or lesser rapidity with a given number ofturns of the crank-handle in each case, the advantages of which areobvious.

In the combination of the attachment with a reed-organ, in. order tofacilitate the drawing of the stops to the organ, the attachment isprovided with asuitable number of drawrods,'N one only being shown. Thisdraw-rod N pas es through the case from front to rear, (see Fig. 2,) hasa knob, 9 at its front end for convenience in operating it, and at itsrear or inner end has two curved spring-arms, 2 shaped at their outerends to engage with sockets a in the opposite sides of a stop-knob, Oand in their length to practically surround the stop-knob O and to beheld in the engagement described through the spring given to the arms,which obviously allows them to be readily detached. The constructionandarrangement ot' a draw-rod N obviously enable the organ-stop to which itis connected to be drawn or returned from the front of the case when theattachmentis otherwise in operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a mechanical apparatus constructed to be attached to the key-boardot' a musical instrument, the combination of jack-levers J,hammer-levers W, connected together by lcvers II, and cords q withplatform 0 and feed mechanism, all constructed and arranged together,and for operation in connection with a perforated music-sheet and thekeys of the instrument, substantially as described, for the purposespecified.

2. Ham mer-levers \V, having the spring-acting portion of them securedto a rail, which is hinged and adapted to be adjusted in position, allso as to regulate the sprin-gpressure of the hammer-levers,substantially as described.

3. Hammer-levers W, in combination with a hinged rail, K having twoarms, one of which is arranged to act upon the levers by the operationof a cam-lever, M upon its other arm, substantially as described.

4. The slide draw'rod N, having spring-tingers 2 in combination with theorgan-stop and with an attachment to the key-boards of musicalinstruments substantially such as herein described, and allsubstantially as described, for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presenceiot' twosubscribing \vitnesses.

FHA NOIS E. MOORE \Vitnesses:

EnWlN W. BROWN, WM. S. BELLoWs.

